This disclosure relates to the field of support structures for subsea wellbores that may extend from below the bottom of a body of water to above the bottom of a body of water.
International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2015/054766 A1 describes a process for installing an integral assembly, comprising a first penetration step that takes place by means of the weight itself of the assembly, and a second penetration step that takes place by suction for completing the penetration of the assembly into the sea floor. Additionally, the foregoing publication discloses an integral assembly itself having particularly one or more suction piles associated to one or more wellbore tubular components.
International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2016/085348 A1 describes a device for reducing the load on a wellhead casing from a bending moment generated by a horizontal load component from a well element arranged over a wellhead. The device includes a supporting frame component (6) which is connected to an upper portion of the wellhead casing and projects outwards from the center axis of the wellhead casing. The device also includes an abutment which rests supportingly against a base (13, 41) at a radial distance from the wellhead casing. The supporting frame is arranged to absorb a portion of the bending moment.
Mounting parts of the well structure directly into the supporting structure has issues of interest, such as hot work (such as but not limited to welding) when fabricating the construction. Hot work on the well structure can cause heat induced stresses and may introduce potential weak spots with respect to fatigue life capacity. It therefore may be advantageous to prevent hot work in areas with high load exposure to be able to keep the high mechanical specifications of the well structure.